It's frustrating when you feel like you have a message to get out and people just judge you regardless.

I've learned that you only become as creative as you possibly can by staying independent.

I like to make people dream and think and imagine and learn and study. Nowadays, music is so literal - it's telling you, "This is how it is," and my music's the opposite. I come from an era where lyrics were full of imagery and metaphor, and that's all I know.

I've only covered a few songs because I feel that if you're not going to go beyond the original artist in some way, then don't disrespect what they created.

I had to appreciate other things about music, like the writing and the cadence and dealing with producers. I became a student. I wanted to learn the actual idea of what this industry was before I could creatively speak a lot of the things that I wanted to speak.

There's always going to be a fight between mainstream and underground because the mainstream is a very small bubble, and the underground scene is a very small bubble, and they both see themselves as secret societies.

The only person who can confine you is yourself.